All The President's Men Film Analysis

Films today often have large budgets dedicated toward capturing and keeping viewers’ attention in any way possible. Films like these include large actions pieces, over-the-top characters, and long elaborate openings that serve this purpose. The film All the President’s Men achieves the same goal without having any of the before mentioned cinematic techniques. Instead, All the President’s Men proves that sometimes, less is more. Screenwriter William Goldman utilizes his own different techniques that keep the story grounded while also keeping viewers interested throughout the film. These techniques include simple opening and closing credits, a subtle use of music, use of real news footage, and a proper balance of drama and intensity. Goldman’s brilliant use of these techniques paid off and lead him to win several screenwriting awards for his work. All the President’s Men is a film that focuses on simplicity and realism. This is evident from the very beginning of the movie. The film opens with the loud clacking of a typewriter, displaying the date of the Watergate break-in. The

The book has several parts that can bore the reader, but Goldman is able to make the same moments entertaining on screen. For example, there is a humorous scene when Woodward and Bernstein finally catch a break and get an interview, only to realize they are interviewing the wrong person. Goldman does an exemplary job of using these subtle moments of comic relief to break the intensity of the overall story. They aren’t overly used, which could’ve made the movie too ridiculous. These moments are used just enough to keep the overall tone of the film serious. They also make certain parts more interesting than they appear in the book, which helps keep viewers’ attention. Goldman is effective in staying true to the events of the book while adapting them to